Search Results for: rise records

“Things are different now,” a news anchor commented last Tuesday while covering the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Those words continue to resonate a week later, with sports, travel and entertainment all vastly affected by the East Coast tragedies. In the music industry, the biggest changes are occurring on the air as radio stations around the country alter their playlists to reflect the radically different context in which pop music is now heard as compared to when the music was originally written and recorded. As Bob Buchmann, program director at WAXQ in New York, put it, “The… Read more »

Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” shot up the competition by bringing home six “Moon Man” trophies – including breakthrough video and best direction – Thursday night during the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. But “Weapon of Choice,” directed by Spike Jonze and featuring Christopher Walken dancing up a hotel’s walls, was shut out of the prestigious video of the year prize, which went to Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink for “Lady Marmalade.” Last year’s big winners ‘N Sync walked away with four trophies for “Pop,” including the coveted Viewer’s Choice… Read more »

Columbia Recording artist Maxwell’s eagerly-awaited third full-length album, Now, is debuting at the #1 slot on the Billboard Top 200 Album Sales chart with first week’s sales of more than 296,000 units, according to SoundScan. It’s Maxwell’s first #1 debut (his last full-length studio album, 1998’s Embrya debuted at #3) and best single week’s sales figures to-date. In celebration of the release of Now, Maxwell is following up his recent SRO New York 7 concerts-a precedent-setting series of seven sold-out performances in seven different venues across Manhattan (for a total of 20,000 tickets sold)-with his first major national tour in… Read more »

Another punk band bursting out of Orange County, Thrice segregate themselves from the monotonous throng of pop lightweights overwhelming the SoCal scene by delivering some much needed meaty hardcore musicianship and potent lyrics. Bringing that furious sound of their debut Identity Crisis to the stage of Anaheim’s House of Blues recently (8/9), the foursome performed before a sold out hometown crowd with metal-crushing vigor. “It was really, really fun,” said breathless frontman and songwriter Dustin Kensrue backstage after the gig in an exclusive interview with Virginmega.com. “The kids were going crazy and we played almost all of our first record… Read more »

Mariah Carey wants you to know everything is a-okay. And don’t believe everything you read. And never underestimate the power of a pretty rainbow.    That, in a nutshell, sums up an audio phone message that the singer, still recovering from her recent mental breakdown, posted for fans Monday on her official Website, www.mariahcarey.com. “Okay, this is a message for my fans,” she begins. “And I just want to say thank you sooo much for all the letters, and everything that I got from you. I want you to know you definitely can’t believeeverything you read. And, um, thank you,… Read more »

Music group Aqua, the cornerstone of Denmark’s pop industry and a major export earner, is to disband, Danish media has reported. “We are taking a break until further notice,” the London-based band said. “Our group has lost its sparkle.” Local media interpreted the announcement on Wednesday as signaling the break-up of one Denmark’s greatest successes ever on the international pop music scene. In 1997, the band soared up charts with its kitschy “Barbie Girl” hit, sparking an unsuccessful legal action against its U.S. record company MCA Records by the doll’s maker Mattel. Mattel said the use of the name Barbie… Read more »

Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Damon Dash put just a little more of a pimp stroll than usual in his confident swagger as he walked into the penthouse of Manhattan’s Hotel Giraffe Thursday night. Dash was about to show a handful of invited guests his trump card – the new Jay-Z album, The Blueprint, which features appearances by Eminem and, apparently, Michael Jackson. “I don’t want to say we’re the backbone of hip-hop, because that may sound arrogant, but it is what it is,” Dash said before playing seven songs from the LP, which comes out September 18 and features the single… Read more »

If anything, the Moby-spearheaded Area:One package, which wrapped up its tour at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion on Sunday, suffered from an embarrassment of riches. With nearly 20 bands and DJs arrayed on three stages over nine hours, there was something worth checking out at given moment, and often two or three. This meant that choices had to be made: to see the Orb in an automaker-sponsored DJ tent meant missing the reunited New Order on the main stage, or forgoing one of the impressive collection of turntablists and MCs holding court on the small urban stage. With the eclectic… Read more »

Ditching the usual motive to profit through stinging ticket costs and merch fees, one 2001 tour is ready to hit the road on Aug 23 in hopes of bringing the profits back to the people, making the benefits of attendance more than just musical. “One of the primary goals is to provide youth with both the knowledge and the resources to overcome the dilemmas they face today,” the official press release for the Plea For Peace-Take Action Tour states. Founded with a charitable purpose just as fierce as the rock performances it’s delivering, the outing seems to be riding on… Read more »

Radio airplay is and has been the primary driver of retail record sales in the United States. Some estimate that nearly 90 percent of sales is the direct result of an artist being exposed on radio. But today, radio is joined by an array of other media choices: MTV, BET, and VH1, digital downloads, and streamed audio. Consumers borrow friend’s CDs and tapes, and see live performance. Any record label or promoter would be remiss by ignoring any one of these outlets since they all help to sell music. In the first-ever project of its kind, James Schureck at Jeff… Read more »